Rupert Grint will step back into the role of Ron Weasley for a 17-week run in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" on Broadway, more than 15 years after the final film wrapped.
Grint, who played the red-haired wizard's best friend in all eight "Harry Potter" movies from 2001 to 2011, will join the cast at Broadway's Lyric Theatre from February 2 through May 30, 2027. Variety first reported the casting on August 26. Presale registration opens September 1 on the play's website.
The announcement marks the second time a star from the original film franchise has crossed over to the long-running stage production. Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy on screen, took on the elder version of that character in the Broadway show and saw his run extended through January 3 amid a box office increase.
Grint, who first landed the part at age 11, framed the move as personal rather than purely professional. In a statement released with the announcement, he pointed to the passage of time, and fatherhood, as what makes this chapter different from the films.
"Ron Weasley has been a part of me since I was 11 years old and I can't wait to meet him again in this stage of life."
He went further, drawing a direct line between his own life and the character's.
"There is something so full-circle and so special about stepping back into Ron's shoes now when we are both fathers; it is somehow both very familiar and completely new. And the joy of being back on Broadway, this time in a role that defined so much of my life is truly exciting."
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" picks up the wizarding story years after the events of the original books and films, following the main characters as adults raising their own children. Grint's reference to "both fathers" fits that premise, the play's Ron Weasley is a grown man navigating parenthood, just as Grint is offstage.
Producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender issued a joint statement that tried to head off any suggestion this is a simple reunion stunt. They pointed to Grint's post-Potter career, which has included work in film, television, and stage productions on both Broadway and London's West End.
"Rupert is not simply revisiting a role from his past. He is continuing a journey he began as a child and carrying it forward with all the life and experience he has gained since filming concluded, including a career that has taken him from film to television to acclaimed stage work on both Broadway and the West End."
Friedman and Callender also leaned into the thematic overlap between Grint's real life and the play's story.
"His return creates a powerful bridge between the story audiences first fell in love with and the story of family, legacy and the passage of time that 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' carries forward."
The decision to bring in Grint follows a clear commercial signal. Felton's stint as elder Draco Malfoy drove a notable box office bump for the production, enough to earn an extension through early January. Producers appear to be betting that a second original-film star will deliver the same result, or better, given that Ron Weasley is a more central character than Draco Malfoy in the franchise's mythology.
Grint's 17-week engagement begins just weeks after Felton's extended run wraps, keeping original-cast momentum alive at the Lyric Theatre well into the spring of 2027.
Whether the strategy signals a broader plan to rotate more film alumni through the Broadway production remains an open question. For now, the play has found a formula that pairs nostalgia with live performance, and the box office is responding.
In an entertainment landscape that runs on reboots, sequels, and recycled intellectual property, at least this one comes with a willing participant who sounds genuinely glad to be back.
